by Kar Yung Tom
Upon further investigation, it turns out that the two Japanese top 8 lists in my previous article might not be as valuable as I thought. The number of players playing at the tournaments were a lot lower than I expected. The Chiba PTQ had 42, while the Kanazawa one had 25! However, two recent results from Japan have caught my attention. The winners of a 92 and 72 player tourney were both Fauna Shaman decks. Will I be playing either of these decks come Nationals? We will just have to wait and see.
Hajime Nakamura (7-0)
1 Plains
2 Island
4 Forest
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Stirring Wildwood
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
3 Seaside Citadel
2 Sunpetal Grove
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Evolving Wilds
4 Noble Hiearch
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Vengevine
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Baneslayer Angel
2 Path to Exile
4 Mana Leak
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Sideboard
2 Oust
3 Celestial Purge
3 Negate
2 Wall of Denial
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Gideon Jura
Daisuke Nakamichi (7-0)
2 Plains
2 Mountain
4 Forest
4 Arid Mesa
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Jungle Shrine
2 Raging Ravine
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sunpetal Grove
4 Noble Hiearch
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Fauna Shaman
3 Lotus Cobra
1 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Dauntless Escort
4 Vengevine
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Ranger of Eos
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Path to Exile
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Oblvion Ring
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani Vengeant
Sideboard
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
2 Dauntless Escort
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Obstinate Baloth
2 Baneslayer Angel
I am too busy playtesting to offer any insight of my own, but hopefully, my loyal readers can start a productive discussion in the comments section.
Speaking of which, to all you people planning to show up at the Canadian grinders tomorrow, I will be around a bag of official First Edition Mana Deprived t-shirts. They finally came in today.
Until next time,
KYT
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.